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Twyla Insalaco's 9-year-old daughter was looking forward to starting fifth grade at Monocacy Elementary School in Dickerson in September. But a recommendation to close the school and consolidate it with Poolesville Elementary School before the start of the 2010-11 academic year would stop that from happening.

"We were very disappointed and upset when we found out they wanted to close the school," said Insalaco of Poolesville, vice president of Monocacy's Parent Teacher Association. "The school is very good and we can't believe it."

Montgomery County Public Schools Superintendent Jerry D. Weast announced his recommendation to close Monocacy on Friday, a move that he said could result in a net savings of $1 million per year.

The decision to consolidate Monocacy into Poolesville was based on low enrollment at Monocacy, said school system spokesman Dana Tofig.

But some parents are questioning the decision and say Monocacy is near capacity and wonder why the school system spent $200,000 on a new roof that was completed in late August if they were going to close the school.

Parents are invited to a meeting with PTAs from schools in the Poolesville cluster 7-9 p.m. today at Poolesville's Town Hall, 19721 Beall St. to discuss the proposed closure.

The school board will discuss procedures next month, and host public hearings Nov. 11 and 12, according to a memo from Weast released Friday.

An advisory committee of representatives from both schools will be formed in early December and report to Weast and the school board at the end of January. The board is expected to hold a public hearing in February and vote on Weast's proposal the following month.

Charles E. Woodward High and Cabin John Middle School were the last schools closed by the system on July 1, 1987, schools spokesman Dana Tofig said. Cabin John, he said, reopened a year later in 1988. Cabin John was planned to be closed for good, said School Board Vice President Patricia O'Neill, but there was a need for the school to remain open because of the community's population of children. Woodward students were sent to Walter Johnson High School, O'Neill said. Tilden Middle School now occupies Woodward High in Rockville, she said.

Monocacy can hold 206 students and 176 are enrolled, according to Weast's proposal. Poolesville can hold 549 students and has 387 enrolled. Enrollment is expected to drop to 157 next school year at Monocacy and to 358 at Poolesville, the proposal said.

Enrollment at Monocacy last year was 191, the first time that less than 200 students have been enrolled since 1999, according to Weast's memo. The school has three portable classrooms, according to the school systems' fiscal 2010 Master Plan published in late May.

"The enrollment is down in the lower grades [at Monocacy] and that's something we have looked at," Tofig said. There are 18 kindergarteners enrolled at Monocacy.

Monocacy Principal Cynthia Duranko declined to comment.

Good test scores, a family environment and a curriculum comparable to a private school is why Christine Chalk of Boyds sent her daughter to Monocacy, she said.

If the school closes, "I will send my daughter to private school," she said. She fears Poolesville will be overcrowded and her daughter's friends, who also live on small farms, won't be around her all the time because they will be in other classes.

Jerry Klobukowski, vice president of Poolesville's Commissioners and the body's schools liaison, said he was "not exactly happy" to hear of the recommendation to close Monocacy.

"I understand MCPS needs to find money, but I'm not sure this is the way," said Klobukowski, who said MCPS should try to find a way to keep the school open and bring students there instead.

Tofig said a new roof was put on Monocacy over the summer, but could not confirm how much MCPS spent on the project.

O'Neill said the school would not be sold. "That's too much of an investment in infrastructure," she said. If the population near the school increased and there was a need for the school to be reopened, O'Neill said "yes we would reopen it."

"We may lease it out to a private school if it is closed," O'Neill said. "But it will remain in our inventory."

Kate Harrison, an MCPS spokeswoman, said no other schools are being considered for closing. Suzann King, a spokeswoman with the school board said they have received two e-mails and several phone calls since Friday in support of keeping the school open.

Staff Writer Meghan Tierney contributed to this report.